1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a recording apparatus and, more paticularly, to an apparatus and method for transporting and cutting a recording medium.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As is well known, a recording apparatus of the type using a roll of recording paper is used in facsimile receivers and other printers. In a typical apparatus, recording paper is unrolled from the roll, transported past a recording head, such as a thermal recording head, and information is recorded on the paper by the recording head. After completion of the recording operation, the recording paper is further transported a predetermined distance and a cutting operation is performed. The section of the recording paper that has been recorded and cut is then stored in a tray.
The most convenient position for the storage tray is immediately adjacent the cutting device since paper that has been cut can fall immediately into the tray. A recurring problem has been found, however, in recording devices thus arranged. As the paper moves into the tray, a bend frequently occurs due to interference between the recording paper and sections of the recording paper that have previously been cut and discharged into the tray. The paper may also bend due to the fact that it has been stored on a roll and is predisposed to a bent configuration. After the cutting operation, this bend will sometimes cause the paper to move back into the cutting device, causing undesirable papr clogging and frequently resulting in the same section of the recording paper being cut more than once. In response to this serious problem, many prior art devices use feed rollers after the cutting device to transport the cut section of the recording paper to a tray located some distance from the cutting device. In this way, the cut paper could not become clogged in the cutting device.
Although the use of feed rollers helped to eliminated the problem of paper clogging, several new and equally disturbing problems were created. Using feed rollers beyond the cutting device requires that the tray and the cutting device be some distance apart. This requirement makes it difficult to manufacture a compact recording device. As the technology of recording devices has improved, the size of the devices has decreased. The use of feed rollers places an unwanted limitation on the size of the device. The use of feed rollers also increases the cost of production and increases the overall complexity of the device which will necessitate additional maintenance and repair.